The Peninsula's wedding package includes accommodation on the night of the wedding in a Deluxe Suite - 1344 square feet of what looks like old school charm which I can't wait to experience in person. I will also have the good fortune of spending the night before the wedding here as well so that me, my sister and mum as well as Mr Ng's mum and sister will all be able to get ready together on the morning of the Day. Am really hoping that the room really is as spacious as it looks online.
After many years of wanting to learn French (I studied it way back in Years 7 & 8, loved it and excelled in it but never pursued it after that) I've finally decided to do something and have enrolled myself in French for Beginners, starting Monday. I'm a bit apprehensive about getting back into the whole attending class thing but am more than a little excited to get back into hitting the books. And I'm determined to be able to get around in French when I make my first trip to Paris (whenever that may be..).
I have also just booked for my parents, Mr Ng and me to go see Cirque du Soleil's Saltimbanco next weekend and since previous Cirque du Soleil shows I've been too have never failed to disappoint I am really looking forward to it.
(image from High Tea Society)
Mr Ng has also taken some initiative and booked us in for Shangri-La's Wickedly Sweet Chocolate High Tea which is available until the end of Winter. Very shocked I didn't even have to ask him more than once to do it.
Not only that though, he has also arranged for us to go to The Ginger Room in Canberra for our August anniversary (I make it a point to try to do something special every month on our dating anniversary and Mr Ng is kind enough to oblige when he remembers). I read quite a few reviews on this place a while back so am interested to see how it turns out.
There has been quite a bit of talk around my family recently regarding cosmetic surgery which has really gotten me worried about bodies after babies as well as aging. And call me superficial, but I do not want to age gracefully! But I also don't want to go under the knife in order to keep myself looking young.
In all honesty I would much rather spend thousands of dollars on products than spend the same amount on any cosmetic procedures - I have already warned Mr Ng that as I approach the third decade of my life, I will really start to increase the expenditure on my products.
One line I am determined to try in the very near future in an attempt to combat this whole aging thing is Sisley. The prices are exorbitant (especially in Australia) but every now and then I will read a rave review on different products from the line, always coupled with 'expensive, but worth it'.
So some of the products on my to buy and try list:
Now on to some body products. I have never paid too much attention to products specifically for the bust but after having my sister tell me that women's breasts will DEFINITELY sag after giving birth and breast-feeding, I am getting really paranoid (and I'm not even pregnant yet). So some bust products I'm eager to try:
Love the name of the Lush one!
And for the rest of the body (with some drug store ones thrown in for good measure):
Boots Expert Total Body Contour Firming Lotion (have to figure out where I can get this one)
Time to go shopping!
Mr Ng is currently in HK and travelling to Shanghai tomorrow for work and it sure has been quiet not having him around. The days seem to go by much more slowly..after more than 8 years of dating (and seeing each other pretty much every day except for when one of us is overseas) I'm glad to say that I'm still not sick of seeing him - and I'm hoping that marriage won't change that either!
So while I have all this free time to myself I thought I'd take the opportunity to blog a little about Bells at Killcare on the Central Coast which we visited a few weeks ago and I had booked to commemorate Mr Ng's last birthday as an unmarried man.
Whenever I come across articles featuring short, luxury breaks around Sydney, Bells always seems to crop up so I've been wanting to try it for a quite some time now. As much as I enjoy the buzz of city life, I think it's important to just get away from it all every once in a while. And a stay at Bells certainly is getting away from it all, especially when you are greeted with this in your room:
I think the allure of Bells is that guests are left to themselves to just relax and do whatever they wish whenever they choose to. And because the property has only nine suites and two 2-story cottages (although according to their website new villas and suites will be opening later this year), Mr Ng and I never even saw any other guests.
The entrance to our King Spa Suite:
some pictures of the inside:
and the deck:
The highlight for Mr Ng was definitely the fireplace (please forgive the crappy phone camera pic):
and I think he went through all the firewood outside the room in his excitement:
My favourite part was having Mr Ng cook us breakfast from the breakfast hampers that are provided to guests every morning:
Although with $450 a night room rates (on weekends), they could've provided a little more bacon..
Some shots from around the property:
Upon check-in, guests are given information about various bush trail walks around the area. But as luck would have it, the night we arrived I was struck down by a severe cold and spent the next couple of days coughing my head off so Mr Ng thought it best we skip the hike. And although the day spa menu looked promising, I was not feeling well enough to try it out.
We did manage to dine at the Manfredi at Bells restaurant on our second night but maybe because I was sick I wasn't too impressed by the dishes there.
Nevertheless, was a truly relaxing couple of nights away and we both really missed the fireplace when we came home.
Next up? Hopefully the Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa in the Blue Mountains, although considering the rates, we might have to wait until after the wedding to treat ourselves.
I've been trying so very, very hard not to spend too much money these days as I know all the various payments for the wedding will be coming hard and strong until the Day (which has proven to be quite difficult especially with all the sales that are going on at the moment) . But Mr Ng will be heading to HK tonight for work and it would just be silly not to get him to pick up a few things for me considering the strong AUD!
Decided not to go too overboard with the cosmetics since I'm still working through my KL haul so have only given Mr Ng a list of the basics (La Roche Posay sunscreen, Bioderma Sensibio, Lierac serum). What's more he'll be bringing back the Nano he managed to get for me last month (which I talked about here) so I promised him that would keep me happy for a while hehe.
BUT last trip I was there I was in Harvey Nichols picking up a Smythson of Bond Street cover for my Blackberry when I happened across matching travel wallets, the Marshall:
and a more slim version:
I've always admired Smythson small leather goods but never realised until I actually owned one why they have such high price tags. Simply put, they are exquisitely made. My Blackberry cover has taken quite a bit of beating and is still in pristine condition.
So this is pretty much my perfect travel wallet - it has enough room to fit in all the papers and documents needed when travelling, it is great quality and most importantly, it is pink.
At the time I didn't purchase it since I only saw it on the last day of our trip and I had gone slightly overboard with the spending already (more on that later). But I still haven't been able to get it out of my mind, which I always take as a sign that I really want it and it's not just a 'want-of-the-day'.
The only downside would be that unfortunately personalised name/initial engraving is not available in Hong Kong (and Harvey Nichols is the only store there where Smythson products are available) but I can live with that.
Now all I have to do is force Mr Ng to make time to drop in to the store to see if it's still available there . But the good thing is he can't give the excuse that he won't be in the area either since he's already told me that he is so happy he'll be able to browse through the HMV store - which is just around the corner of Landmark - for as long as he wants since I won't be there telling him to hurry up, hmpf!
What is it about weddings that conjures up such strong emotions? I'm not talking about emotions of love and happiness, I'm referring to ones of annoyance and anger. Perhaps it's the fact that so much time, planning and money goes into this one day. And even with the help of wedding planners, it is still such a stressful experience.
It is 6 months to the big day now and I cannot wait for it to be over. I swear I have never heard people utter such stupid things to me in my life. A couple of examples:
Not exactly music to a bride-to-be's ears. I must force myself to just ignore it all (as hard as that may be) and concentrate on more important things..
But one thing that usually manages to keep my mind off it all is thinking about how I want the venue to be decked out (note that I say 'I' and not 'we' since Mr Ng has known since we booked the venue that the extragvagance of the decorations is non-negotiable). One word: flowers. And lots of them.
The decorations at the wedding reception of Donald and Melania Trump is definitely at the top of the list of how I would want our venue to look (on a much larger scale of course). When guests walk into the room, I want them to be blown away and this definitely has the wow factor.
Other images which I hope convey the kind of atmosphere I hope can be created (all by Preston Bailey):
And still a bit unsure of how to decorate the Garden Suite for the ceremony but I'm really loving this:
although I wouldn't want the view of HK to be blocked by anything too big.
Will just have to wait and see what the decorators say when Mr Ng meets up with them tomorrow.
(Mr Ng is pissing me off to the max today, so might as well blog while I ignore him)
Let me introduce to you my current love, Biotherm's Lait Corporel Anti Drying Body Milk:
I am constantly on the hunt for body moisturisers that not only smell great but actually keep my body moisturised for the entire day, I absolutely hate that tight feeling my skin gets if it's too dry. Most moisturisers do an OK job straight after you step outta the shower but by the end of the day, especially in winter, my legs and arms will actually start to flake - so gross!
So I'm happy to report that Biotherm's Anti Drying Body Milk lives up to its name. I was actually quite skeptical when I first applied it because it's quite a thin consistency and I usually find that the thicker the cream, the more intensely it moisturises. But by night time my skin not only didn't feel dry, it actually had a nice sheen to it! And as a bonus, this stuff smells great. Reminds me very much of Aesop's Rind Concentrate Body Balm but does such a better job at hydrating the skin.
Mr Ng if you are reading this, please feel free to stock up on this for me in HK.
It's miserably cold this winter and I've been sick for most of it which would explain the absence from blogging. So in an attempt to take my mind off the latest bout of sickness my body seems to have succumbed to I though I would get my butt off the bed and finally showcase my shoe purchases from last month.
First up my one and only purchase from the mid-year Net-A-Porter sales, a crepe silk pair of Pierre Hardy's in 'Indian Pink':
I've been wanting to inject more colour into my shoe wardrobe and these fit the bill, a bargain at 50% off coming down to USD287.50 (some Nine West shoes cost more than that these days!).
Now onto the KL purchases. Just as I was leaving the Lanvin boutique at Starhill (now relocated to Pavilion I think), I spotted this awesome pair of metallic pink Lanvin pumps:
I have to admit, they didn't look great on the shelf but as soon as I tried them on I fell in love. It didn't hurt that they were 70% off as well and so came down to MYR1404.
Lucky number three, my first pair of Valentino's:
One can never have enough flats and at 70% off I didn't hesitate - final price MYR768.
Last but not least another first, this time a pair of Sergio Rossi's:
Also 70% off (geez KL discounts are good) down to MYR898.50. Ok, so some of the sale stock in KL was from a few seasons back, but it was no older than the stuff at the Luisa sales and the styles are so much nicer in my opinion.
Very happy with my sales finds this time round. Now all I have to do is wait for the weather to warm up so I can enjoy them!
So last post I had intended to write about all the skin care products I use on a daily basis not knowing that my morning routine alone would take so long to cover! So I'll now continue with my night routine.
The first step - and one that I find has been the most important for my skin - is to take all my makeup off with cotton pads soaked in Bioderma's Sensibio H2O micelle soultion (previously called Crealine H2O):
which I stock up on in HK (see earlier post). This stuff is famous for a reason, totally non-irritating and takes EVERYTHING off.
I then cleanse with Aromatherapy Associates' Renewing Rose Cleanser, swipe some of Ella Bache's Intensive Balancing Lotion on my chin, nose and forehead and then immediately apply La Prairie's Cellular Eye Contour Cream (all same as in the morning).
I've recently purchased Ella Bache's Baume Allantoin:
which is a 'calming, soothing, strengthening treatment lotion' which I like to pat on straight after cleansing. And then it's time for the moisturiser.
I absolutely love to slather on thick moisturisers at night, much to Mr Ng's annoyance lol. And over the years I have tried a fair number - Creme De La Mer (I stopped feeling the benefits after my second jar), Natura Bisse's Diamond Extreme Cream (too rich for my skin), Prevage's Anti-Aging Night Cream (nice but smells a bit too chemical-ly for my liking) to name a few..and no doubt I will be purchasing countless more in my lifetime. But at the moment I'm quite enjoying Ella Bache's Creme Tomate:
which is probably the thickest night cream I have ever encountered, but a little really goes a long way and my skin is loving it this winter.
Finally, on my neck and chest I use whatever creams I originally bought for my face but didn't get around to finishing whether it be because I didn't feel it was doing anything for me or I bought a new face cream and forgot about my old one (which is more often the case). So at the moment I am alternating between the last of my Prevage, Chanel's Hydramax + Active Nutrition and Chantecaille's Flower Harmonising Cream.
So there it is, my AM and PM routines - for now. I've informed Mr Ng that once i hit my 30s I'll really be starting to get into the heavy duty stuff so that will be interesting!
Ok I admit it, I am a beauty product junkie. I think it all started with my mum constantly reminding me of the importance of facials and good skincare products (her skin btw is fantastic). I always promised myself that once I got a boyfriend I would go for regular facials. So as soon as Mr Ng entered my life, the facials began. And once I convinced him of the importance of a good skin care regimen he told me that when it came to beauty related products, I had an unlimited budget. Mr Ng is probably reading this now and thinking 'BIG mistake' haha..
Over the years I've tried to take good care of my skin (using sunscreen and eye cream religiously since my teens) but the past couple of years I've definitely upped my routine - most probably because the big 3-0 is just around the corner now..and especially since I want to look like this in my 40's:
Geez Rosamund Kwan is a babe! (I really should get my ass into shape as well)
Anyways back to the products. Mr Ng always likes to ask silly questions like 'Do you really need that??' (the silly questions only started after he told me I could spend as much as I wanted mind you) so I thought it would be interesting to see just how many products I use on a daily basis.
So it starts in the shower where, if I remember and I'm not feeling too lazy, I'll use a body scrub. At the moment the only one I have is this Sweet Sugar Scrub by L'Occitane which I managed to get half price at the boxing day sales:
but doesn't seem to be available on the L'Occitane site anymore (which was probably why is was on sale, duh). This is actually the very first body scrub I have purchased, it smells great and is very moisturising. But I'm always up for trying different products so I look forward to discovering new ones once I use this all up. Although knowing me I will probably buy a new one and start using that and this one will just collect dust..
On to the body moisturiser. I have just finished using a tube of Burt's Bees Shea Butter and Vitamin E body lotion:
which I bought at Myer and claims to be fragrence free but actually has a very strong smell! Nothing offensive, but Mr Ng took one whiff and refused to use it. I discovered this one over at A Model Recommends and it certainly has proven to be a very good choice this winter (it claims to have 24 hour moisturisation).
If I happen to have another shower in the evening, I've been trying to use up my Fresh Sugar Acai Age-Delay Body Cream:
which I picked up from Sephora in New York last year. Not the most pleasant smelling in my opinion so I probably won't repurchase. But it has also kept my body nicely hydrated this winter, even though I'm pretty positive my age hasn't been delayed with use.
Now to the face. Seeing as the weather is cold I prefer to use a cream cleanser and I have been enjoying the Renewing Rose Cleanser by Aromatherapy Associates:
which I finally managed to get at the Mandarin Oriental spa in KL last month (another A Model Recommends recommendation!). However I'm still undecided if I like this one better or the thicker consistency of one of my all-time favourites, MV Organic's Gentle Cream Cleanser.
Straight after cleansing in the mornings, I use a cotton pad to lightly wipe Ella Bache's Intensive Balancing Lotion over my chin, nose and forehead:
which I find has really helped to control any hormonal breakouts. I then pat La Prairie's Cellular Eye Contour Cream around my eyes:
but after having used this for close to five years now I think the effects have slowly died so I will definitely be looking for a replacement once I've finished my pot up.
I've also been applying Lierac's Concentrate Mesolift in the mornings:
which I grabbed from Watson's in HK and is a toning radiance serum, followed by whichever moisturiser I'm in the mood for. Over the past few days I've been favouring another Aromatherapy Associates product, the Triple Rose Renewing Moisturiser:
and I've gotta say I am in love with the fragrance of this one! Next up is the sunscreen with Shiseido's Sun Protection Eye Cream first:
which I bought in HK more than two years ago and still seems to be going strong. Then comes the facial sunscreen and although every now and then I like to test different sunscreens out, I ALWAYS come back to Ego's SunSense Daily Face SPF 30+:
I NEVER leave the house without sunscreen on.
And finally, the foundation. As with the moisturiser, I tend to choose which foundation to wear according to my mood and the weather. And I also tend to stick to liquid/gel textures as I find powders too drying for my skin. Over the past week I've cracked open a new one I purchased in KL, Estee Lauder's CyberWhite Brilliant Perfection Advanced Brightening GelCreme Makeup:
which I am really liking. Feels just as light and mosturising as Chantecaille's Just Skin but gives slightly more coverage. I also try to always apply my foundations with Laura Mercier sponges:
which I tend to stock up on whenever I am in the States. Applying foundation with my fingers tends to make it 'pill' (probably because I am always in a hurry in the mornings and don't leave enough time for my products to fully sink in), and I just can't be bothered washing my brushes all the time so these sponges are the best.
Right before I walk out the door, I slick on a coat of Fresh's Sugar Rose tinted lip treatment with SPF15 onto my lips
as well as a layer of Ella Bache's Handsaver onto the back of my hands
and I'm good to go :)
But that's just the AM routine, the PM routine is a WHOLE other post!
